Your line about "who makes the cut" has really struck a nerve with me. Let me explain. I have the strong opinion that you can do whatever you want with the photos (ie. "who makes the cut"). What you see and how you feel from the displays is all you. A display with a topic theme, color theme, or whatever theme is going to be fabulous as long as you go with your heart and your gut. I had a terrible MIL (EX now!) who actually took the time to inventory WHO was displayed in photos, HOW they were displayed, and concocted her own storylines on why I elected to leave out certain people, include others, and have some more prominent than others. She had the gall to have "sit-down talks" with me several times about my choices in displayed photos. She started sending photos with little post-it notes on where they would "look nice" & which one's I should change out. It gnawed at her to no end that I changed nothing despite her passive-aggressive instructions. I hope your family and/or friends are not the likes of the old hag I used to deal with. You should never, EVER have to explain the reasonings (themes, etc) of photos and why you display what you do. Don't want to bring a downer to this & hope I'm not making you think harder into it. This just brought back some bad memories and it's really too bad it had to go that way. End of therapeutic vent. Gayle

Anyone?

Lauren, You are a woman after my heart, lol. You did all those changes today, awesome. It looks good. One thing I have learned it that the rooms look different in person, so that said, I would consider all frames black around the room. I love gold, yet against white and thin frames they tend to wash out in photographs. You will know if that's a good idea for YOU. The photo display looks right. See how many different ways the motif can be displayed? I read someone posted to paint the rails, I like that suggestion too. You could add a down spot accent light on each side of shelves. The light will reflect off the glass. Dimmers are great. Shelf diplay is an art, I always tell people what we all learned on "Sesame Street"; group like thing together. It looks balanced now with the extra shelf. I love the mock up of the paint too. Someone mentioned pillows. This is where you can have fun and add your personality. I'd like to see texture there. I love big pillows to curl up with on the sofa. The gray pillows look matchie matchie from the sofa company. Again may look different in person. You get to plan and choose finishes for you, and your "Likes", Enjoy. Thanks for flattering my ideas and implementing them, that's the best compliment!.

I recently faced the same question (my photos are in a wide stair well and landing area rather than over a couch though). After ordering a picture shelf I opted to do a gallery wall instead - the picture ledge stands out enough that I felt like it protruded in the space (it wouldn't actually have been in the way, it just felt like it was). You might have the same problem if you placed one over a sofa. That said, it does mean my pictures are staying where I put them and it's taking me along time to hang them all.